At that moment, the carriage stopped in front of them. Miss Darcy climbed in and shut the door, then leaned out of the window.
“I do not want to hear your excuses,” she said, her voice full of ice. “I will not tell my brother about Mr. Wickham and your plans, but you had better stay at your uncle’s. I cannot allow you to spend another night under my roof. I will have the maids pack your belongings tonight and I will send the coachman for you tomorrow morning with your things. He will take you to Meryton. Betty and two of the manservants will accompany you on your journey.”
There was no point for Elizabeth to argue her case right now. Miss Darcy was too angry to be reasoned with, and, in any case, all the evidence was against Elizabeth. She could not even say she was completely blameless. Shehadencouraged Mr. Wickham in his assumptions. She deserved this for being reckless enough to tell her woes to a stranger.
“Thank you for arranging the carriage at least,” said Elizabeth, trying not to give way to despair. “And despite what you believe, I would never harm you.”
Miss Darcy looked away, closed the curtains, and signaled for the carriage to leave.
She stood at the bottom of the steps, looking down the street, long after Miss Darcy was gone.
“Come inside, Lizzy,” said Mrs. Gardiner. “There is a chill in the air.”
“You heard what she said? She has banished me from her home.”
“It seems the Darcys are in the habit of casting you out.”
“It certainly seems to be my fate.”
Her aunt wrapped her arm around her and pulled her gently inside.
Her uncle was waiting inside. “I am very sorry, Elizabeth. We had no idea. After you told us about his kindness to you, we were happy to make his acquaintance. And then we felt sorry for him when he told us his sad story.”
“His sad story? What sad story was that?”
“That Mr. Darcy had deprived him of a living old Mr. Darcy left for him, and that he was forbidden from seeing Miss Darcy, who was like a sister to him.”
Elizabeth sank into a chair and groaned. “I see where this is going. You decided to help him see his so-called ‘sister’.”
Mr. Wickham was not interested in seeing his so-called sister. He was interested in marrying an heiress. Elizabeth could not reveal this to her aunt and uncle, however, because the planned elopement was Miss Darcy’s secret. Still, from the young girl’s reaction, her aunt and uncle had most probably guessed some of the situation at least.
“She is only fifteen. She is not yet out. It was extremely improper to invite a single young gentleman for what I believed to be a simple family dinner.”
“It was wrong of us, but in our defense, we thought he was her family, or close enough, since they were raised in the same household. He told us he went to the same school as Mr. Darcy and later attended Cambridge at the same time. We were taken in by him. I feel like a fool.”
“Not as much as I do,” said Elizabeth.
“Now, now,” said her uncle. “Do not take it so much to heart. It was all an unfortunate misunderstanding. The best thing is to sleep on it. They are preparing a room for you here. We will talk about a solution in the morning.”
“There is no solution,” said Elizabeth, dully. She felt numb. She could only imagine Mr. Darcy’s reaction when he discovered what happened. Even if Miss Darcy did not tell him, he would know. How else could Miss Darcy explain why she had asked Elizabeth to leave? Mr. Darcy would guess it had something to do with Wickham, and he would think he was justified in his suspicions all along. He would believe the worst of her. She could not bear to lose his good opinion. If he had spoken to herso coldly when he thought Miss Darcy was behaving badly, how would he react now?
Her life had unraveled. She would never see Mr. Darcy again.
Darcy managed to stay away from Cavendish Square for four whole days. Four whole days without setting sight on Miss Bennet. It was as much as he could manage, but it was an improvement. Slowly, he reasoned, he would become indifferent. Eventually, he would become so used to it, he would no longer care. It was simply a matter of time.
When he called at his designated time in the afternoon, he promised himself not to react to Miss Bennet no matter what she said or did. Yet even before he was through the door, his heart was beating so quickly he could hardly think.
His eyes sought her out. To his intense disappointment, only his sister and Mrs. Annesley were in the room.
“Did you stay out late last night? Is Miss Bennet still sleeping?”
Georgiana snorted. “When have I have ever stayed out late, Brother?”
Very true. Georgiana did not go to balls or late card games, or dinners. He felt a tinge of alarm. “Is Miss Bennet unwell, then?”
“I would not know,” said Georgiana, haughtily.
His brow creased in confusion. “Georgiana, could you speak plainly, please?”
